Film slitter



June 11, 1968 J. c. WHITMAN FILM SLITTER Filed March 28, 1967 FIG. 3

23 INVENTOR.

JOHN C. WHITMAN. B02) M M FIG. 6

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,387,366 FILM SLITTER John C. Whitman, Port Byron, N.Y., assignor to Agway Inc., Syracuse, N .Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 626,545 2 Claims. (Cl. 30-2) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fiat member is incised to form a triangular portion, the apex area of which is bent outwardly from the flat member to provide a pointed barb for penetrating and slitting the film as the member is moved along the film.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Many products, especially food products, are at pres ent packaged in thin plastic sheet material. invariably, the film containing the product is sealed, necessitating severance of the film in order to remove the contents of the package. Most plastic films used in packaging are tough and extremely resistant to tearing by the fingers. Accordingly, it is necessary to use a knife, or other sharppointed instrument, to open the package, with the possibility of injury to the person and/or damage to the product, or material, within the package.

This invention has as an object a film slitting device embodying a particular simple structure capable of being produced at very low cost and which serves as a convenient means for slitting plastic film, particularly for opening packages which may include products, or articles, having extreme resiliency, the slitter requiring substantially no pressure against the film during the slitting operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a film slitter embodying my invention.

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the forward portion of the slitter.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the forward portion of the slitter.

FIGURE 4 is a view, similar to FIGURE 1, illustrating an alternate form of slittcr shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURES 5 and 6 are respectively end and side views of the forward portion of the slitter shown in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of the slitter.

FIGURE 8 is a view taken on line 8--8, FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a view taken on line 9--9, FIGURE 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The slitter is formed from a flat member. In FIG- URES 1-4, the fiat member is in the form of an elongated strip 10. The fiat body member is relatively thin and formed of suitable material, such as stainless steel.

In the arrangement shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the forward end portion 11 of the strip is formed with an incision 12 extending inwardly from one side of the strip and inclining forwardly toward the forward end edge of the strip. This incision, in conjunction with the adjacent side edge, defines a triangular tab 13, with the pointed end extending rearwardly and bent outwardly from the flat member to form a barb protruding downwardly below the plane of the strip, whereby the pointed end 14 extends rearwardly. The strip 10 is provided at its rear portion with an upwardly extending handle which, preferably, is formed by curving the rear portion of the strip 10 upwardly and forwardly, as at 17 In operation, the strip 10 is laid upon the film and moved rearwardly, the barb point 14 penetrating the film and, upon rearward movement of the device, is effective to slit the film.

Preferably, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the forward portion 11 is offset upwardly from the remainder of the strip 10, and is of less width. The portion 11 is offset upwardly a distance comparable to the distance the tab 13 is bent downwardly, whereby the point 14 is positioned substantially coplanar with the bottom side of the strip 10. With this arrangement, when the slitter is placed upon the film, the rear portion of the strip 10 is tilted upwardly and the device turned to move the barb point 14 into piercing engagement with the film. Thereupon, the strip 10 is moved flatly along the film, the downwardly bent tab raising the film in the area of engagement by the point 14 and accordingly, the slitter is effective to slit the film regardless of the uneven surface of the material in the package, and also without injury to the material in the package.

In FIGURES 4, 5 and 6, the strip 10) is formed with a slot 20, preferably located medial of the side edges of the strip, and extending rearwardly from the front edge thereof. The incision 12 is formed at the inner edge of one of the legs of the bifurcated formation, as the leg 21. The leg 23 is bent downwardly so that the under surface thereof is coplanar with the point 14 of the barb 13.

In operation, the device is placed upon the film and the front end portion is moved downwardly under slight pressure, the leg 23, acting as a spring shoe, is thereupon moved upwardly in the plane of the leg 21, exposing the cutting point 14 of the barb for engagement with the film.

In the drawings, the thickness of the strip and the downward displacement of the barb 13 is exaggerated. The slitters in use are formed of stainless steel strip only a few thousandths of an inch in thickness, and the barb is displaced downwardly only a few thousandths of an inch, which is sufiicient to eifect penetration and slitting of the film.

Referring to FIGURE 7, the flat member is in the form of a plate 27 shown as of rectangular form. The plate 27 may be bent in its central area, as indicated by the lines 28, and it may be formed with a central aperture 29. The curvature of the plate aids in picking the slitter up from a flat surface. The aperture 29 provides a finger hole by which the device can be more conveniently manipulated. Also, the hole 29 permits the device to be hung on a peg, or the like.

The plate 27 is formed at one edge, and preferably in proximity to one corner, with a notch 30, the notch being inclined at an acute angle to the edge of the plate, the notch forming a triangular barb 33 which is bent outwardly slightly from the plane of the edge 34 in which the notch 30 is formed. The sides of the notch are inclined, as at 35, 37, see FIGURE 9.

The device shown in FIGURE 7 is used by moving the edge in which the notch 30 is formed along the surface of the film, the point of the barb 33 penetrating and slitting the film.

I claim:

1. A film slitter comprising a substantially flat member, said flat member having a bifurcated forward end portion, said flat member having a triangular portion struck out from the inner side edge of one leg of said bifurcated portion, the apex area of said triangular portion being bent outwardly from said one leg providing a barb protruding downwardly below the plane of said one leg, the opposite leg of said bifurcated portion being inclined downwardly from the leg portion in which said triangular barb is formed, said opposite leg being yieldable upwardly to permit said barb to penetrate and slit a film when said member is moved therealong.

2. A film slitter as set forth in claim 1, wherein the rear portion of said flat member is curved upwardly and forwardly providing an integral handle portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner.

G. WEIDENFELD, Assistant Examiner. 

